A GROUP of Warrington Town fans are taking on a gruelling 40-mile walk to raise money for the club’s groundfunder appeal.
Work has started on the development of a new stand at the Wash Lane end of Cantilever Park and fans have been doing their bit to help cover the cost of the works.
More than £23,000 has already been raised as part of the groundfunder appeal, and the walkers have already had pledges of more than £2,000 ahead of this weekend’s walk.
They will set off at 10pm on Friday night, walking through the night, before making it back to Cantilever Park in time for Warrington Town’s game against Bishop’s Stortford on Saturday.
The effort is being co-ordinated by Yellows fan Jason Laybourne, who will be part of the group of around 30 walkers, with the help of a further eight in the form of a support team.
He said: “It’s close to all of our hearts, we know what we’re doing it for. The club needs to raise the money to get the work done and to help get work done. We were thinking about what can we do to help and a friend of mine, Richard Kynaston, came up with the idea of a sponsored walk.
“So we came up with this 40 mile walk, going from Warrington to Altrincham, back to Warrington and then on to Spike Island, back to the club and a short six-mile loop around town.
“We went with it and put it on social media and there was about 40 people who immediately said they would fancy being involved. A special mention to one of the club’s fans in Norway, Gunnar, he and his girlfriend Vibecke have booked flights to come over and do it with us. He’s already done a 38 mile walk through the snow at home in preparation so he’s going to smash it, so he can carry me when my legs go about 10 miles in!
“We think it’s a great cause and we want to do anything we can to help the club, it’s just one of a few initiatives going on.”
The fundraising efforts by fans have included a quiz night, as well as regular bucket collections at the ground.
Those efforts, and that of the walkers, were acknowledged in a club statement providing an update on the ground work issued on Tuesday.
It read: “Following a fantastic response to our volunteers day at the weekend, work has now commenced on the building of the new away stand, which we hope to have completed in time for the visit of Southport next Tuesday.
“While the club is confident of completing the works ahead of the required deadline at the end of March, the question has been asked if there can be any consideration to an extension for any issues beyond the club’s control, notably the weather causing delays.
“The club would like to thank fans for their incredible response to the groundfunder. While the required funds the club needed to find was estimated to be £80,000, in real terms that has now increased to beyond £100,000. More than £22,000 has been raised by fans alone, which has been of significant help.
“We would like to particularly acknowledge the efforts of Colette and Jane in arranging bucket collections at the ground during home games, and also the intrepid group of fans planning a 40-mile walk ahead of this weekend’s game against Bishop’s Stortford to raise further funds.
“The remaining shortfall will be made up by a director’s loan coupled with a small investment to ensure that the club’s target of staying in National League North on and off the pitch can be achieved.”
On the field, the Yellows have exceeded expectations and find themselves in the top half of the National League North table and within reach of the play-off places.
To donate to the sponsored walk efforts, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/warrington-town-groundfunding-sponsored-ultra-walk
